Catch 22
by tromana
Summary: Lisbon knows who the murderer is, for a change. While it isn’t a bad thing, it isn’t necessarily a good thing either. Jello Forever January Challenge Entry. Prompt: New Beginnings. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Because I totally haven't got enough multiparters on the go. *rolls eyes* Four Seasons is written and will be posted... over the next 2 days. And I'll keep Addiction and Unbound rolling. That's a promise.

Anyway, Catch is my entry to the January Challenge on Jello Forever. The prompt. New Beginnings. I love that prompt. YAY. And yes, the chapters will get longer. Consider this more prologue-y, if you will.

Enough rambling. I need sleep.

x tromana

* * *

**Title:** Catch-22  
**Author:** tromana  
**Rating:** T  
**Characters:** Jane/Lisbon, Team  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine.  
**Summary:** Lisbon knows who the murderer is, for a change. While it isn't a bad thing, it isn't necessarily a good thing either.  
**Spoilers: **2x03 Red Badge  
**Notes:** written for the Jello-Forever January Challenge: Prompt: New Beginnings

**Catch-22**

_1 : a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule the show-business catch–22—no work unless you have an agent, no agent unless you've worked — Mary Murphy; also : the circumstance or rule that denies a solution  
2 a : an illogical, unreasonable, or senseless situation b : a measure or policy whose effect is the opposite of what was intended c : a situation presenting two equally undesirable alternatives  
3 : a hidden difficulty or means of entrapment : __catch_

(From Merriam-Webster)

**Part One**

He preferred it when she was angry. He could cope with that. Lisbon when she was shouting and raging, positively screaming his name from across the bullpen as she berated him for some crazy antic that he had carried out. That was fine; that was to be expected. Sometimes, he wondered how she never suffered from a hoarse throat, though she was certainly at no risk of doing that with the way she was behaving right now. In fact, excepting when she was suffering from a headache, Jane hadn't ever known her to be so quiet. And he knew she didn't have a headache - the Advil was still in its usual cupboard in the kitchenette. He'd checked. Twice.

It wasn't as if he'd done anything different to usual. Well, not really.

She was definitely over, or possibly, under reacting.

Besides, they'd just arrested the perp, told the victim's relatives, eaten closed case cookies and she'd signed off on the paperwork. She'd even found the time to write 'closed' onto her whiteboard like she did every time they'd finished with a case.

Whenever he tried to speak to her, it was always promptly replied to with a 'not now', 'tell me later' or the like. Jane had even specifically laid on her rock hard, uncomfortable couch which was inferior in virtually every way in comparison to the one in the bullpen, hoping that would at least trigger some kind of ranting tirade from her. It hadn't. In fact, Lisbon had just ignored him and gotten on with her work as if he weren't there.

He knew she was angry and he just wished that they could clear the cobwebs and get back to normal. Something that was very difficult to do if she was barely acknowledging his existence.

Jane couldn't help but think that if he knew more about why she'd been so on edge, so determined with this case, then he'd understand why she was so annoyed. It was relatively short and easy; they'd only ever had the one suspect and he was behind bars, for now, waiting for the case to hit the courts. Lisbon herself had identified him from just two rope burns and a couple of slashes to the victim's abdomen and Cho had immediately agreed with her suspicions.

He'd just figured that they'd both studied the course in some kind of training manual and that they were simply more liable to remember than Rigsby and Van Pelt. It wasn't as if either of them were caught up in the first throes of love and trying to disguise it (albeit, badly) from the management like the younger two agents were. Clearer minds meant that they were more likely to remain focused on the task in hand.

But, it wasn't quite that. Jane knew that whenever Red John reared his ugly head, he entered some kind of tense fervor. It ran through his veins and almost controlled his very being. And Lisbon had had a similar kind of frenzied look in her eye from the moment she had clapped eyes on the twelve year old victim's bloodied and bruised corpse.

It was almost like she was seeing herself in the girl's place.

**TBC…**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Firstly, thanks to Divinia Serit for having a quick look-over this part.

Thanks also to: Viktorija, Frogster, Penelope Louise, NellietheMarvelous, WildDaisies10, Country2776, PhoenixWytch, yaba, Chiisana Minako, mtm and ch19777 for reviewing part one.

I'm sorry, I have nothing particularly witty to say.

x tromana

* * *

**Part Two**

_One Week Ago_

Lisbon glanced nervously across at Jane, her eyes sliding across to take in his features, when strictly speaking, she should have been watching the traffic light like a hawk. But she had a reason to be agitated; she always was whenever she heard that a child, especially a girl, was involved. Though she couldn't comprehend just what it was to lose a child, what with society's constant reminders of the meaning of family, she did know what it was to lose _someone_. Several someones, in fact. She just wished that he'd let her reach out to him, if only just a little bit more. His self-imposed barriers were ridiculous, though she knew she was being slightly hypocritical for thinking that. Jane had people who cared about him and despite the fact that she tried to remind him of it, he still seemed virtually blind and immune to the mere concept.

The light changed from red to green and they were on their way once more. Rigsby was snoring in the back seat, obviously suffering from the fact that it was still only five a.m. But murderers rarely act on a convenient timescale and the sooner they were at the crime scene, the better. It meant that precious evidence was more likely to remain intact rather than having been destroyed by the oft-hapless LEOs. She hadn't received much information, literally just the bare bones and had been told that the coroner would inform them once they arrived.

"Jane?"

"Mhm?"

"You okay?"

"I'm fine."

She nodded slightly, not quite sure why she'd felt the need to ask him again. As they pulled up onto a modest driveway, Rigsby jolted from his nap with perfect timing. Lisbon hadn't much looked forward to the idea of waking her gentle giant. She smiled briefly when she saw that Cho and Van Pelt were waiting for them at the door. When she reached Cho, he quickly caught her arm and stared pointedly into her eyes.

"Boss."

"Yes, Cho?" she enquired, the line between her eyebrows becoming more pronounced as she frowned.

Suddenly, he found himself lost for words. He cared about Lisbon, he really did. She was like an older sister to him and if anything happened to her, he'd never forgive himself. And what he'd found out from the coroner minutes before her arrival meant that he was worried about her. She didn't deserve this; it seemed like the world was determined to never give her a break. Cho liked to think, compared to the rest of the team, he was in an enlightened position when it came to her. Lisbon had certainly opened up to him more than anybody else, even Jane, despite public appearances indicating the contrary. Though, since the blond was attached to her team, she seemed to have closed off again, like she was scared that if she told anybody anything, Jane would find out and use it against her, or anybody else involved.

"I think it might be…"

He stared at her beseechingly, hoping that his eyes could convey his meaning. They usually did, but he wasn't quite sure how to say who he thought was responsible without coming out with it. But then again, this was Lisbon's business and he didn't want to go broadcasting it to the rest of the team. She was the one who deserved control of the matter as it was her past. Not his. And if Cho knew anything about Teresa Lisbon, it was just how viciously private she could be except with those she trusted implicitly.

"Yes?" she queried, cocking her head to one side slightly

He opened his mouth to murmur his suspicions when the coroner approached, looking relieved to see that the entirety of the team sent from the CBI had finally arrived. The woman wore a harried expression as Lisbon introduced herself, Rigsby and Jane and quickly fell in step behind her as the woman led all five of them upstairs. Lisbon winced as she hit a creaky step and somehow, the whole situation suddenly felt rather ominous.

It didn't take Lisbon long to have her fears confirmed. Yes, there had been the death of a child, which was already a terribly sad thing, but no, it wasn't a Red John case like she had been suspecting, especially after Cho's hesitant attempt to warn her. The rest of the team filed inside the girl's bedroom, pushing past her while she remained frozen to the spot in the door frame. She could see all she needed to from where she was.

She glanced at Cho and he nodded at her sorrowfully.

This was what he'd been trying to warn her about. She was grateful, but it didn't stop the nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach, nor the shiver down her spine. Staring at the body of a twelve year old girl made Teresa Lisbon feel like she was that age herself and reminded her just how tremendously lucky she had been.

But still, they should never have let the bastard go.

**TBC…**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **You can tell when I start getting into a story, the chapters start lengthening. Hah.

Anyway, thanks go to: mtm, Country2776, Frogster, Chiisana Minako, Penelope Louise, yaba, HOUSEMDFanForever, Smudje, Charmed225, lil smiles, PhoenixWytch, MentalistLover, WildDaisies10, Ebony10, Famous4it, Viktorija and ch19777 for reviewing part two.

I'm gonna try and write part four after work tonight, provided I'm not dead on my feet. Well I did sleep a bit better last night...

x tromana

* * *

**Part Three**

"Lisbon?" Jane spun around once he realized that she hadn't joined them. He studied her face for a second as he approached her. "You know who did this."

Mutely, she nodded while slowly walking backwards. The sooner she was out of the house, the better. Without explaining, she immediately rushed downstairs and within seconds, she found herself gasping her air outside. Her knees almost buckled under her weight and if it wasn't for Jane, she would have collapsed to the floor.

"Woah, are you okay?"

"Yes, fine."

Lisbon pushed him away roughly before her head started spinning again, feeling faint. Taking note, Jane helped her to sit down, but only earned himself a quick glare for his efforts. The consultant sat beside her, his eyes not leaving her for a second. The color had drained completely from her face and her right leg seemed to have developed a nervous twitch. Carefully, he placed a hand on Lisbon's knee as she fought against the autonomous reaction. A panic attack; he recognized the symptoms virtually immediately as his wife had suffered from them on occasion too. He waited silently by her side, studying her every reaction, as she fought to regulate her breathing patterns and calm herself down. When she seemed to be back in control, he let out a sigh of relief. Contrary to popular opinion, he hated seeing her stressed out.

"Okay now?"

"I'm _fine_, Jane."

"Sure," he replied skeptically. "Are you going to tell me what the hell happened up there?"

"I…" she started. "I haven't had breakfast, that's all."

"You're lying."

"I'm not," she snapped, indignantly.

"You are."

"I'm _not_."

"Are."

Lisbon was about to retort once more when the rest of the team joined them outside. Van Pelt looked at her, somewhat disconcerted and the brunette found herself repeating herself, stating emphatically that she was okay. It wasn't the job of the rest of the team to worry about her - she was the boss and therefore, she was meant to look after _them_ instead. Quickly trying to regain her emotions, she instructed Rigsby and Van Pelt to remain behind and talk to the relatives before heading back while the rest of them returned to CBI headquarters immediately. She rose to her feet and Jane stubbornly wrapped an arm around her waist in support.

"I don't _need_ your help, Jane."

"Boss?"

Ignoring Jane, Cho approached Lisbon and gently placed two fingers on her right bicep. She quickly glanced at him, intrigued and attempted to wave Jane away. The consultant, naturally ignored her and remained pinned to her side.

"Cho," she sighed in response while pretending that Jane wasn't bothering her. "What do you want?"

"We could talk to Minelli? We don't _have_ to do this case."

An eyebrow shot up immediately, a mixture of disgust and amusement written across Lisbon's features.

"I'll be fine, Cho. Thank you."

"If you're sure," he muttered. "I know what this case means to you."

"I know. C'mon, lets get back. We have a trail to be following."

The journey back to CBI headquarters was tense. Jane was desperate to continue grilling Lisbon for information on their mystery murderer, but knew that right now she was liable to only clam up and shout at him instead. He wasn't surprised when she headed straight to her office, nor that Cho followed her in when Rigsby and Van Pelt arrived fifteen minutes after them, bringing boxes of evidence. Killing time, Jane wandered towards the break room, deciding a cup of tea was in order.

Cho opened the door to Lisbon's office tentatively and was relieved when Lisbon greeted him with a weak smile and beckoned him in instead. He was certain that part of it was due to the fact that he had a bear claw in hand though. Wordlessly, he placed it down in front of her, along with a box of evidence collected from the scene. Almost immediately, she buried her head in the box and frowned when she pulled out one particular object.

"His wallet?" Lisbon murmured and Cho nodded in response. "He's out of practice."

"You're not worried?"

"No, we just need to track him down," Lisbon replied to Cho, feeling somewhat more self-assured since first thing that morning.

"Meh," Jane interrupted as he walked into the room, taking care not to spill the tea or coffees in his hand. "Why track him down when we can lure him out? Let's get him to come to us."

"Why'd we do that?" Lisbon snarled at him, trying her best to ensure that his interruption was unwelcome.

"Because it's easier?"

"No, we're doing this by the book."

"But that's boring. And slow."

"We can't risk letting this man off the hook, Jane," she snarled. "_I_ can't risk that. If you're going to even suggest that, you're staying off this case. There's plenty of cold case files for you to look at."

Lisbon placed the wallet back in the box and kept her eyes firmly fixed on Jane. The consultant approached slowly and placed the coffee down beside the bear claw that Cho had brought her. His hand skirted around the top of the box and when Lisbon turned to request that the Asian agent do a database search, he allowed his hand to dip in, remove the wallet and slip it into his pocket. He smiled benignly at Lisbon and she scowled in response. Cho having, remained stoically by Lisbon's side, supporting his boss as steadfastly as ever.

"What are you still doing in here?"

"I'm going, I'm going."

"And don't bother me again unless you have something useful to say."

"You know, if you have a headache, you should really take some Advil."

"I'm _fine_, now go away."

"I still don't believe you."

"Go."

With a grin, Jane slipped out of her office and headed promptly to Rigsby's desk. Cho was still busy with Lisbon and the blond knew that Van Pelt was off discussing her progress with Minelli. The red head had been particularly concerned about the meeting, her nerves becoming more and more apparent in the past fortnight. Still, she should be fine. Lisbon was pleased with her performance and would no doubt have told the director just that. As Jane approached him, Rigsby quickly looked up from the CCTV tapes he'd been studying, welcoming the distraction.

"Rigsby, you want to go get this man?"

"Of course I do," Rigsby stated, glancing nervously to one side. "It's what we all want."

"Well, he's going to want this back isn't he?"

Jane quickly flashed the wallet in front of Rigsby's nose before placing it back in his pocket. Rigsby's eyes traced the object as he did so and he frowned somewhat as he did so.

"That's meant to be with the rest of the evidence. If it's in the log…"

"It's in the log, well done Rigsby. Lisbon will be pleased with just how well she has had you trained."

"She knows you've taken it?"

"Something like that," he replied, waving dismissively. "I have a plan. This is what we'll do…"

**TBC… **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Snow plus driving lesson? Not good. Snow plus driving lesson plus mother whinging about her experience driving in the snow? Even worse. Eek. I am actually terrified. Even more scared than when I had my very first lesson and I was _very_ scared then too.

Plus side? I have enough to be doing to work from home. Thank goodness for that.

Thank you to: Country2776, yaba, Viktorija, Penelope Louise, Famous4it, mtm, ch19777, Chiisana Minako, Frogster, Ebony10, HOUSEMDFanForever and Divinia Serit for reviewing. It means a lot.

Ugh. Still haven't heard from my driving instructor either way. Wish me luck.

x tromana

* * *

**Part Four**

"Jane, I don't think this is a good idea," Rigsby muttered apprehensively. "Are you sure the boss agreed to this?"

"Stop thinking too hard, Rigsby. When Lafayette realizes he's left this…" Jane paused to dig out the wallet from his vest pocket and flash it in Rigsby's direction. "Behind, he's going to come back to the scene of the crime to get it back."

"I guess…"

"So we might as well wait here for him."

"But was the barbeque really necessary?"

Rigsby eyed the gardening equipment, on which the charcoal was slowly beginning to ignite. As soon as they'd arrived, Jane had dug two beach chairs out, the ones he'd previously seen shortly after they'd lost the Red John case to Bosco. Something which obviously still irked the consultant, though he hadn't exactly altered his behavior to compensate for the matter. If anything, he'd gotten worse, as demonstrated now. Half of him wanted to leave, let the blond dig his own grave, cover his back when Lisbon found out about this wild goose chase. After all, whenever Jane was concerned, the deflection of a question usually meant that the answer was the one that you didn't want to hear.

"Sure it was."

"Why?"

"Because how else were we going to cook these burgers?"

Jane smirked as Rigsby's face lit up at the mention of food. He beamed as the blond dug out more and more boxes of meat, stacking them neatly by his feet, temporarily forgetting about his concerns. Quickly, he shook his head to clear his thoughts before accepting the bottle of water offered to him by Jane and taking a quick sip.

"Jane?"

"Yes Rigsby?"

"Never mind Lisbon, you did get permission from the couple to do this, didn't you?"

***

"Boss?"

Van Pelt was tentative as she opened the door and was relieved when Lisbon looked somewhat welcoming. When the red headed agent had first sneaked a peek between the blinds to see if her boss was busy, she'd been somewhat disconcerted to see that the senior agent was gazing off into the middle distance, caught up in some kind of a trance. If Lisbon was prone to daydreaming, she wouldn't have been concerned, but if the older agent was one thing, she was completely focused on her job and career. Distractions at work just didn't come into it. It just wasn't something you thought of when you considered Teresa Lisbon. There was something different about this case and she was aching to ask but just doesn't have the confidence to do so.

Van Pelt has spent a lot of time just sitting at her desk, considering the case too. The database search had taken her minutes and no number plates had sprung up as of yet. So, instead of bothering Lisbon, she'd taken to thinking up potential connections, things that may have been missed. Questions that had remained unanswered. And unless she built up the courage to ask them, they'd remain that way and then, that could mean that she could miss out on something that could potentially help. She's not deluded though, she doesn't expect anything she could think up to be vital information, but you never know. Besides, she knew she was a far better officer than she was a year ago, six months even.

"Sit down, Van Pelt."

"Okay…"

"What's wrong?"

"Is it possible…" she started tentatively, "that he raped her, boss?"

Lisbon glanced away from Van Pelt's gaze for a second, suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable. At least the younger woman had pulled her from her reverie and the memories she had been unwillingly revisiting though. Absent-mindedly, she rubbed at her wrists, simply giving her hands something to do in the silence. Van Pelt squirmed somewhat; she had thought that it had been a good question to bring up. After all, it was strange that nobody had brought it up and in cases like this, it almost always was. Why would a man go to the effort to groom a pre-teenage girl if he wasn't after sex?

"No, absolutely not," Lisbon eventually replied, with conviction. "Lafayette's not interested in physical control. He's after one thing and one thing only: emotional domination. It's what he thrives on."

Van Pelt stared at her, ever so slightly horrified at the concept. When Cho knocked on the door and walked straight in with confidence, she was relieved that somebody had broken the tension, if only a little.

"Rigsby just called," Cho announced to the two women. If he was concerned about the information he was about to impart, he didn't show it. "He's back at the family's home. With Jane."

"What else?" Lisbon enquired dubiously, but only after letting out a long, measured sigh to ensure she kept her anger in check.

Cho's eye twitched ever so slightly as he focused all his attentions on his boss and friend. He took a step closer to her and had he been more forthcoming with physical gestures, he would have touched her gently with a finger or two as he had done when she had almost fainted earlier that day.

"He's taken the wallet."

***

Rigsby swore under his breath when he saw a lanky man approach Jane in the back garden. He'd felt better when he'd been talking to Cho, letting everyone back at CBI headquarters know what was going on. But not that the reckless consultant was being approached by somebody who fit the description of their murderer perfectly, his blood ran cold. Lisbon was going to kill him. She'd bloody kill him if even one hair was hurt on Jane's arrogant blond head. No matter how many stunts he pulled, no matter how much he wound her up, it was still blatantly obvious that Teresa Lisbon was soft on him.

Jane had Lafayette immersed in deep conversation and Rigsby slowly removed his gun from the holster, inching forwards as slowly as possible. He didn't want to startle Lafayette into running because it was one thing if they caught the bastard and another entirely if they let him slip through their fingers. He was surprised when Cho approached behind him, just five minutes later, looking almost as furious as he imagined his boss would. Rigsby was partially pleased that the rest of them had managed to get there so fast, but still the expression on the Asian agent's face disconcerted him. Maybe he shouldn't have backed down to Jane's whim so easily?

At the sound of the approaching agents, Lafayette swung around, eyes widening when he spotted who was closing in on him. Seeing the two men standing there, guns drawn, he had no choice but to run in the opposite direction, brushing past Jane. Jane, who was holding the wallet, the key piece of evidence. Jane, who accidentally dropped said piece of evidence on the open fire in front of him due to Lafayette's haste at getting past. Just as the criminal thought that not only was the evidence in the process of being destroyed, but he was going to escape, he found himself on the floor with a sharp knee digging into his lower back. He hadn't expected that a petite woman, who was more than confident in her abilities to take down men twice her size, would have been waiting for him the other side of the fence.

Lisbon clicked the handcuffs around Lafayette's wrists firmly. He hadn't changed much since she had seen him last. His hair was thinner, whiter and he'd lost a significant amount of weight, all to be expected after so many years in prison. But she wasn't going to start feeling sorry for him, not now, not ever. And especially not after he'd murdered yet another innocent girl, almost straight after his release. She just had to cross her fingers that they could weasel a confession out of the bastard or find another piece of evidence linking him directly to the murder. If only Jane hadn't done something as stupid as dropping the wallet on an open fire.

After all, this was the one case she needed to close with iron-clad proof. If only for her sanity, if nothing else.

**TBC…**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I miss Minelli but I'm glad I still get the opportunity to write for him. And I think I've just passed the halfway point with this fic - that's a good thing. Good signs for finishing it before the deadline at any rate, something which I'm still ridiculously concerned about. Ah well.

Thank you to: Penelope Louise, Famous4it, Chiisana Minako, ch19777, Viktorija, WildDaisies10, Frogster, Divinia Serit, HOUSEMDFanForever, Ebony10, yaba, Adiver, mtm and Charmed255 for reviewing part four. I have to say I've been completely overwhelmed by the support once more. Thank you!

And a special mention to ch19777 for listening to my complaining about the past couple of chapters 'misbehaving' so to speak...

x tromana

* * *

**Part Five**

"Where's Jane?" Lisbon growled, frustrated with the fact that Minelli was essentially pinning her down in his office. "I'll kill him."

"No you won't," Minelli replied instantaneously, observing the senior agent with interest. He was thoroughly relieved that he knew Lisbon well enough to know that she was only speaking figuratively, but given the situation, he appreciated her sentiment. "Before you do anything, you're going to see that paramedic standing over there. Van Pelt told me you took quite a fall while capturing your suspect."

The brunette glared at him and the director could tell that Lisbon was seriously considering defying his orders simply to get a move on with her current case. Instead, with a sharp nod, she agreed and Minelli, with a sigh of relief, beckoned the confused medic into his office. Before he left her to receive her treatment in peace, he stopped to look her directly in the eye, standing right beside her. He knew the answer in reality, but he just had to have confirmation.

"Teresa?"

"Yes, Boss?"

"Why didn't you tell me this case involved Lafayette?"

Lisbon raised a surprised eyebrow as she slipped off her jacket, wincing as she pulled at her bruised shoulder. She hadn't expected Minelli to need to ask either, so was slightly taken aback. Swallowing slightly and ensuring she kept her eyes trained on the floor, she considered what to say. Naturally, she didn't want to offend the director but she wasn't willing to lie to him; even if she did, he'd call her up on it as it is. He didn't have heightened senses of observation, like Jane, but this was one of the occasions when they simply weren't necessary.

"I can't pass up on a case, you know that."

"Nobody would have thought any less of you."

"I would have thought less of me," she answered promptly, enunciating her words clearly.

He nodded and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder with a sigh. Really, the woman overexerted herself at times and this certainly wasn't the first time he had had her in his office, receiving medical care. Minelli knew that he couldn't fault her for her determination and it was part of the reason that she was one of his favorite agents, though strictly speaking, he shouldn't have favorites at all. But still, this was Lafayette she was dealing with and relatively speaking, he did to her what Red John did to Jane. Like Jane, it was understandable. Unlike Jane, however, she didn't have reckless urge to seek revenge - she just struggled to see things with the clear, rational mind she had honed over the years whenever he was brought up. It was a blessed relief to Minelli that she was more controlled, more sensible even, with her animosity to the child-killer, if only because reassigning cases could be a pain in the ass.

Ten minutes later, for that was all the time she deigned worthy of spending on her own health in the middle of such an important case, Lisbon stormed out of Minelli's office and back to the bullpen, with the paramedic following close behind. Van Pelt shot him an apologetic look, after all, it was easy to feel sorry for anyone who had to deal with Lisbon when she was so focused on something, especially if they didn't know her well. Eventually, after a few angry words, he seemed to get the message and he left her be, concluding that if she suffered from any reoccurring problems, then it would be her own fault. Having finally shaken off the medic, Lisbon glanced over at the couch, which was conspicuously empty. Instead, she heads directly to her office, where Jane was leaning intently over the chessboard, fingering the black knight and deep in thought.

"What the hell are you doing in here, Jane?" she snapped as she stalked over to her desk to pick up the appropriate paperwork regarding the case. "You know what? Don't answer that."

"Lisbon, I…"

"Not only did you take the evidence from the log for some unfathomable reason, but you destroyed it," she seethed, fixing her eyes onto him. "I don't think even you can talk your way out of this one."

Before he even had time to respond, she turned on her heels and headed back towards the door. When she reached the threshold, she paused for a second and glanced over her shoulder, glaring at him.

"Well? Aren't you coming?"

"What? Are you sure?" he spluttered, knowing full well that he sounded foolish.

"Now, would I have asked you if I wasn't?"

Feeling rather like a puppy trying desperately to get the attention of its distracted owner, Jane tailed Lisbon to the interrogation rooms. After a quick knock on the door, Cho immediately came out to greet her, looking surprisingly harassed for the normally-stoic agent.

"He's not talking, Boss. Wants to see you first."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" she muttered, relieved that nobody tried answering the rhetorical question. "Okay, I'll come in with you."

"You shouldn't have to do that," Cho replied.

"It is my job, Cho."

"I know, but…"

Lisbon sighed, appreciating Cho's concern. After all, he was the only on the team who knew about what had happened all those years ago, when she had first come across Lafayette. She was so young back then, so naïve and she had had so many hopes for the future. Funny, how knowing that he was present in a building that she regarded as her safe haven had made her regress back into that girl.

"I'll be fine."

After instructing Jane to go and observe through the one-way mirror, she entered the brightly lit room containing a handcuffed Richard Lafayette. At the sound of the door creaking open and the footsteps of Lisbon and Cho, the criminal looked up at the pair with hooded eyes. As Lisbon took a seat directly opposite him, he smiled serenely at her and her blood ran cold. Cho immediately glanced at her, thoroughly disconcerted. He'd hoped that she wouldn't choose to put herself through the interrogation and that she'd put herself in the darkened observation room instead. Her decision didn't surprise him though; he just hoped that it wouldn't upset her too much.

"_Teresa_," he hissed, with a lecherous smile. "So we meet again."

"Lafayette," she murmured in acknowledgement. "Are you going to…"

"Now, now, let's get acquainted again first, shall we?" he interjected, cutting her off with ease. "Haven't you grown? And you're still such a pretty little thing."

Lisbon swallowed deeply as Lafayette leaned onto the desk, staring at her appraisingly. She had a feeling that were he not wearing handcuffs, he'd have taken the opportunity to reach out and stroke her cheek or something.

"No, we're going to…"

"And to greet an old acquaintance by slamming to the floor," he tutted and sighed. "I have bruises."

"I really don't care," she answered smoothly, though in reality she was a rattling bag of nerves.

"Oh but you do care, don't you, little Teresa? You don't like having to hurt people, even in the line of duty. That blurs the lines doesn't it? Blurs the lines between you and people like me."

"I…"

"Lisbon?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling the headache that was ensuing. Lafayette's barrage had made her feel like her vision was swimming and all she could think about was getting out of the room. The walls were closing in on her and the sooner she escaped, the better. As she stumbled out of the interrogation room and towards the couch in the bullpen, Lisbon felt as though she was going to fall over her feet and as she collapsed, the sensation of softened leather had never felt so reassuring before. Van Pelt was sitting in front of her within seconds, watching her with saucer-like eyes as Lisbon gulped in air as if she had just been rescued from drowning. Half a minute later and Jane, Rigsby and Cho were also by her side, all wearing matching expressions of concern.

"I'm okay," she eventually gasped five minutes later, humiliated that Lafayette had managed to get such a reaction out of her. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, you look it," Jane replied sarcastically

"I've got to…"

Cho placed a hand on her shaking leg and stared her defiantly in the eye. He hoped she'd listen, because neither of the younger agents would have the confidence to say what he needed to and if Jane did, she wouldn't listen anyway. Those two were far too angry with each other to pay any regard to the opinions of the other.

"You're going to stay here, Boss," he stated emphatically. "Van Pelt is going to make sure that you've calmed down properly while Rigsby, Jane and I deal with the rest of Lafayette's interrogation."

"But…"

"You can't do anything in this state," he added and continued staring her in the eye. "Your welfare is more important than any interrogation, whoever the suspect is."

"Okay," she replied, her shoulders slumping slightly as the rest of the team looked terribly relieved. "Let me know what happens as soon as you can, please?"

**TBC…**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Is it just me or does it seem like everyone is suffering from writer's block right now? I managed to get blocked on all 3 of my ongoing multiparters, which I think is quite impressive. Anyway, I think I've worked through it with Catch now. Going to try writing some more of Unbound or Addiction for the rest of the night - I haven't forgotten about either of them!

Thanks to: Divinia Serit, Country2776, Ebony10, mtm, ch19777, WildDaisies10, Charmed225, Smudje, Viktorija, Penelope Louise, yaba, Frogster, HOUSEMDFanForever, Chiisana Minako and Jadestar1981 for reviewing part five. Especially so for Jadestar who went back and reviewed every chapter and everyone who I've complained about this chapter to.

On the plus side, we've finally got to the point where it actually relates to the prompt, new beginnings (remember that?!) and the chapter after this will explain Lisbon's link to Lafayette. That'll be fun to write.

x tromana

* * *

**Part Six**

When they finally sent Lafayette over to the D.A.'s office, Lisbon was disconcerted. True to his word, Cho had informed her of everything that had happened during the interrogation. Somehow, Jane had managed to hypnotize the creep while he and Rigsby had stepped out of the room to quickly discuss their progress in private. According to Cho, the criminal had admitted to grooming the victim, but Jane hadn't had the chance to ask him about his connection to her by the time they realized what was happening. While it meant that they got their confession, it also meant that it was more than likely to get thrown out of court. It was typical of Jane to compromise the one case that she particularly needed to be rock solid for her own well-being. Still, along with the others, she'd enjoyed the closed case cookies supplied by a rather enthusiastic Rigsby, albeit quietly.

What annoyed her most during the time between closing the case and it hitting the courts was Jane's obsessive shadowing. He seemed desperate to find out any information he could about what had happened between her and Lafayette. Every time he mentioned it outright, she found herself clamming up. She didn't want to talk about it - why would she? The memories were tough to face - tougher even than those of when he parents had died and she'd been carefully trying to put everything back in its place. Jane's constant barrage of questions did nothing to help that. It also didn't help that he'd embarrassed her in front of her seven year old nephew at the miniature golf course, her best friend from college at the movies and scared off her first prospective date in months and that was just in the past seven days.

Despite all her subtle (and not so subtle) hinting, he continued to sleep on her couch and generally get under her feet in her office. She jolted from her reverie as Jane walked jovially into her office, two Styrofoam cups in hand. As he approached her, she glared at him, as usual. There were days when she could cope with his constant presence and today was just not one of them. But then again, after four months of constant shadowing, anybody's patience would be wearing thin with Patrick Jane.

"I bought you tea. Honeybush with Vanilla, you might like to try it," he announced proudly. "I thought it _might_ help you calm down."

"I am calm," she replied immediately, instantaneously regretting rising to his bait. "Haven't you anything else to do?"

"Not really, no."

"Boss?"

She smiled, relieved when she saw Cho hanging by the door, looking relatively unsure as to whether or not he should interrupt their daily argument.

"Yes, Cho?"

"New case. A millionaire's wife, found stabbed to death in her own home."

"Okay, let's go then."

With an air of determination, Lisbon strode out of her office, completely ignoring the drinks that Jane had brought in. With a shrug, the consultant placed both cups on her desk and hurried after the agents.

"Have you heard about Lafayette, yet?" Cho enquired, assuming that Jane hadn't caught up with them yet.

"I haven't," she replied quietly. "We should know soon."

Cho nodded, accepting her answer immediately. He'd been keeping his fingers crossed for some time now and whenever he saw fit, he'd asked Lisbon for a quick update and she'd always obliged him with an answer. The only problem was finding time with her alone as wherever she was, Jane was never that far behind. As he instinctively climbed into the back of the van, Cho wasn't surprised to see Jane already putting on his seatbelt in the front and braced himself for a journey of childish bickering. When they climbed out of the vehicle an hour or so later, he was pleasantly surprised that by the fact that he didn't have a headache and they hadn't said much at all.

"Agent Lisbon?"

Lisbon smiled tightly when the coroner greeted her and led the three of them to the crime scene. The man irked her somewhat, especially as he seemed to continually forget the location of her face in preference for staring at her chest. As she quietly discussed the details with the lecherous man, Jane wandered seemingly aimlessly around the house while Cho looked at the body with interest. As far as Lisbon was concerned, this was more than likely to have something to do with money and possibly love too. Whenever a wealthy person was killed, it usually did, after all. After ten minutes are so, she realized she hadn't been bothered by Jane for a while and grew suspicious. It was unlike him to be quiet for so long and on the rare occasions that he was, it usually meant he was causing mischief somewhere. She sighed as she made her excuses in favor of searching out the blond.

"Jane!"

Jane dropped the yoyo he'd acquired from somewhere, probably from the seven year old boy that was sitting in front of him in a trance. He had hoped that Lisbon would have been distracted for another five minutes, at least. Instead, she stormed into the boy's messy bedroom and glanced from said child, yoyo and Jane.

"You've hypnotized him, haven't you?"

"Er, maybe?"

"He's a minor!"

"And?"

"And he bet I couldn't hypnotize him!"

"So you just had to, didn't you?" she replied, snappishly. "Get him out of the trance. We're leaving."

After the return journey, everyone was unsurprised when Lisbon immediately sent Jane out with Rigsby to go and question the woman's supposed 'best friend' but it did surprise them that he agreed to go in the first place. Then again, despite his death wish regarding Red John, Jane did have a surprisingly high level of self-preservation and the senior agent was in a horrific mood. Thankfully, while they were still out, Lisbon received the telephone call she'd been dreading. Of course she'd been polite to the woman on the other end of the phone but still, as she placed the receiver back down, she was shaking like a leaf. Despite the fact it was the response she was expecting, it still shook her to the core. Not just because it was a guilty man free to roam the streets and free to strike again, but because it was Lafayette. If it was anyone else, she'd be suffering from righteous anger, but because it was him, she felt sick. Still, at least she knew now and all things considered, it hadn't taken that long.

But the call had confirmed one thing. If Jane hadn't hypnotized him, Lafayette would have been back in jail, where he belonged.

It didn't take her long to work out what she needed to do. After she'd disposed of the cold tea, she quickly told Cho and Van Pelt that she was going to be busy for a short while. Cho flashed her a look of concern, especially after he saw her expression. Something had happened with regards to Lafayette and considering the way she looked, he surmised that it meant he was roaming the streets again. Later, when the office was quieter, he'd have a few words with her. She deserved to have someone fighting in her corner, especially as Jane was flying off the handle again.

Minelli raised a surprised eyebrow when Lisbon entered his office unannounced. Normally, she only saw fit to visit him before and after a case unless Jane had done something crazy which required reprimanding. He'd just heard about the blond's most recent hypnotism stunt and of a minor, no less and was about to ask her to bring him down for a telling off, which no doubt would be fruitless.

"Lisbon, is this…"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, deciding that she might as well be straight to the point.

"I can't have Jane on my team anymore."

**TBC…**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **So we're at the connection chapter. Yay. I think. Er. Maybe I should go hide somewhere? I don't know... I will soon now.

To me, this is set post-2x01 and pre-2x08. Just a note as to why I've mentioned Bosco and Minelli's still around.

Thanks to: mtm, Country2776, lisbon69, yaba, starsallseemtoweep, Divinia Serit, Frogster, Queen Em, Jadestar1981, HOUSEMDFanForever, Famous4it, Chiisana Minako, Viktorija, Penelope Louise, ch19777 and WildDaisies10 for reviewing part 6.

Now, onto more serious matters: in response to the Haiti disaster, I have an auction running on the LiveJournal Community help_haiti. I'm offering 2000+ words of fanfiction. If you want to bid for me to write you something, you can find me near the beginning of the 3rd 'Offering Words' thread. My link is http://community dot livejournal dot com /help_haiti /6394 dot html?thread=3381498#t3381498 (remove the spaces and replace the dots with full stops.)

Don't feel compelled to do so, but the option is there if you want to donate money on behalf of the disaster and to encourage me to write a fic personally for you.

x tromana

* * *

**Part Seven**

Nobody in the whole of the CBI had expected that to happen. Lisbon was almost as well known for her leniency to Jane's crazy antics as she was for being intimidating within the CBI, so to see him shunted from their team was almost as absurd as the idea of him acting like a rational human being. Rigsby glanced at Cho, then Van Pelt nervously. The door to Lisbon's office was firmly closed and still, they could hear every single word in the bullpen. Jane's reaction to being reassigned to the Organized Crimes Unit was entirely unsurprising, however and that was what he was arguing vocally with Lisbon about. It seemed that not only was he unimpressed with being moved, but fuming at the fact that he found out through Minelli without any warning from Lisbon herself.

"I still can't believe he's not working with us anymore," Van Pelt suddenly said, causing the two men to stare at her, interestedly. "It just seems… wrong."

"How so?" Cho retorted indignantly, "he's been pushing the boundaries way too much lately and what with Lafayette walking…"

"Lafayette walked?"

"What's the deal with the boss and Lafayette anyway?" Rigsby enquired, his interest piqued. "She never said, we haven't found anything out and you seem to know…"

"It's her business."

All three froze when Lisbon's office door was thrown open unceremoniously, with Jane storming directly towards them. Expecting Lisbon to be hot on his heels, they immediately busied themselves, Van Pelt dragging up the databases to search for links involving the deceased woman's social club, Cho filling in a report and Rigsby rifling through his drawers for a stapler. The blond, however, stubbornly ignored all three of them and flopped down on the couch as if he belonged there and Lisbon, surprisingly, didn't follow him out either. After ten minutes of stubborn silence, Van Pelt eventually turned to face him, desperate to find out what the hell was going on.

"Jane?"

"Mhm?"

"I thought you were working downstairs now?" she asked tentatively. "With Organized Crimes? At least that's what the boss told us when we got in this morning…"

Jane slightly opened one eye and observed Van Pelt with interest. The red head found herself squirming under his gaze and he couldn't help but grin slightly. It still took so little to unnerve her.

"I am meant to be, yes."

"Well, why aren't you, then?"

"Being here is more conducive to thinking and… stuff," he answered, complete with theatrical hand gestures. "There's a better ambiance. And besides, I'd miss _you_."

"Sure. You just miss annoying Lisbon," Cho interjected.

"Of course-"

"Jane! Stop annoying my agents and go downstairs."

"Why should I?"

"I know you enjoyed being the perpetual thorn in my side, but you're the thorn in Hudson's side now.

Lisbon breathed a sigh of relief when Senior Agent Hudson appeared at her side, looking for Jane. Apparently, they'd just made a break in one of their cases and needed to leave imminently. Jane scowled at the pair of them, seemingly blaming them both for the turn of events. He'd been hoping to hang around a bit, try and break her resolve with sheer perseverance and see what he could get from Cho. Just because that plan had been ruined didn't mean he couldn't come up with another one. Still, he followed Hudson out of the bullpen reluctantly and Lisbon, pleased to have gotten rid of him, if only for a short while, returned to her office.

"This is wrong," Van Pelt hissed as soon as the door clicked shut. "Jane should be working with us."

"It was only a matter of time," Cho shrugged. "You weren't here when he was first attached to the CBI. Went through seven units in the space of six months."

"I reckon he only did that until he landed with us." Rigsby announced matter-of-factly. "'Cause we had Red John."

"Well we don't now. Bosco has it."

"Yeah and Jane went nuts so Lisbon got rid of him."

"Minelli would never assign Jane to Bosco's unit because they have Red John. He's not gonna make the same mistake twice."

As the men argued the reasons why Jane had been moved on, with Cho being surprisingly vocal about his opinions, Van Pelt fell into an uneasy silence. Whatever they said, she knew Jane belonged with them. Not only because their close rate was going to lower considerably and she was used to being a part of the CBI's most successful unit, but because she knew Jane and Lisbon had a positive effect on one another. The idea of them both starting fresh without one another sat uncomfortably with her and she hoped that something could reconcile them. Maybe it was just the eternal romantic talking, but they both deserved a shred of happiness and even if they never actually got together, they did need each other's friendship, regardless of what they thought.

Though Jane continued to hang around the SCU as much as feasibly possible, it was another two weeks until he managed to see Lisbon on her own. The moment she spotted him, however, she scowled and immediately walked in the opposite direction. Despite the passage of time, her anger hadn't yet abated and she really didn't want to speak to him. When he eventually cornered her in the kitchenette, by the refrigerator, she was entirely unsurprised and more than a little annoyed. She had work to be getting on with - the case they'd received just before Jane left them had just hit a break and she had to prepare to question the suspect - and she certainly didn't want to spend time going over old wounds with the blond. As far as she was concerned, it was case closed and they wouldn't ever be working together again so he should just accept that fact and make it easier on everyone concerned.

"Why, Lisbon?"

"Why what?" she asked, unfazed. "I have work to be getting on with, Jane."

"Why that case? Why was that the breaking point?"

"You mean you haven't worked it out?"

Jane shook his head and she gaped in response. Him not having worked out something about her was virtually inconceivable. She'd assumed that he already knew and was only seconds away from using it against her in front of the team.

"I've brought strawberries and coffee?" he offered hopefully.

"Fine. Five minutes then."

Pushing him out of the way, she stalked towards her office and Jane followed eagerly, but not without a detour to his old desk where he had stationed the goodwill gifts. He slipped inside and placed them on her desk as she firmly shut the door behind him. Without another word, she sat down and laced her fingers, resting them on the file she'd been working on. Jane took the seat opposite her and stared intently. Both refused to be the first to speak, until eventually, Lisbon grew annoyed with the stubborn silence and sighed irritably.

"What do you want to know, Jane?"

"What is the link between you and Richard Lafayette?"

Reluctantly, she came to her decision; he would never leave her alone unless she told him. Keeping her eyes firmly fixed on him, Lisbon stood and slipped off her jacket, draping it artfully across her desk. Slowly, she rolled up her shirt to reveal a fine scar, obviously inflicted by a knife. As Jane focused on it, he gently mouthed an 'oh' and found that he couldn't look her in the face. That certainly explained a lot and a wave of guilt crashed over him unexpectedly.

"How did…"

Lisbon shook her head, eyes glazing over with unshed tears. There was a reason she compartmentalized her emotions so viciously and it was to stop moments like this. Moments where she felt so out of control of herself that she could even protect herself from her own memories.

"It happened a week before my thirteenth birthday," she mumbled, rolling her top back down hastily. "About six months after my Mom…"

_Flashback:_

_Teresa wrestled agitatedly at her bonds. She'd trusted Richard; he'd seemed so _nice_ and he'd listened to all of her problems since her Momma had died. How her brothers never listened to her, how her Daddy was never home anymore. He'd even listened when Socks had ran away her Dad refused to buy her a new cat. In short, she had trusted him and was cursing herself for ever daring to do so. And now, now she was going to die. Because she'd heard of this killer, in the playgrounds, on the news. She knew that he lured in vulnerable girls and that he killed them in the safety of their own homes._

_She'd just never made the connection between the deaths and Richard Lafayette._

_Why would she? He'd become her confidante and had been so very kind to her. Why would she even _want _to make that connection between the man she thought she knew and the serial killer when he was the one person she'd grown to rely on since her mother's untimely demise? So instead of blaming him, she blamed herself. She shouldn't have been so trusting, she should have been more self-reliant and dealt with her problems on her own. If she'd done so, she wouldn't have found herself a couple of stab wounds away from death._

_She let out an anguished yelp as the sharp blade split the tender skin of her stomach and tried to avoid watching the blood slowly spill out of it._

_Seconds later, when the front door slammed open and her would-be murderer became spooked, Teresa couldn't believe her luck. When her Daddy appeared at her bedroom door, she couldn't be sure whether she was on the verge of fainting from sheer relief or blood loss. _

She'd kept the details as brief as possible as she quickly told Jane what had happened and still, she found herself on the verge of tears. Jane reached out to clasp her hand but as fast as lightening, she pulled it away from him.

"Lisbon, I…I'm sorry."

"No amount of coffee, soft fruits or handicrafts is going to fix this, Jane," she whispered.

**TBC…**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Well, I didn't expect to get this chapter done tonight. Go me! Really, it's because I'm at the end of a three-day migraine (keep your fingers crossed that I don't wake up with it, please?) and thought I'd have crashed by now. Hah, oh well.

Anyway, thank you to: Divinia Serit, ch19777, Chiisana Minako, WildDaisies10, Jadestar1981, Country2776, yaba, Viktorija, Ebony10, lil smiles, Famous4it, mtm, Frogster and Penelope Louise for reviewing part seven, You guys rock

One more part and an epilogue to go, I think. I should get this done in time for the end of the month and the JF challenge. Thank goodness for that! And now I'm going to go back and hide in my corner again whilst I work on part nine. And sleep. Sleep is good.

x tromana

* * *

**Part Eight**

Lying on her bed with her shirt rolled up, Lisbon allowed her fingers to run absent-mindedly across her abdomen. It had been a while since she last felt the need to act like this, to disappear into her own thoughts and think about just how lucky she was to be alive she was. How it was also her own fault that she had come so close to death in the first place, too. Shuddering slightly, she pressed her eyes tightly shut as the cool breeze from the open window danced across her exposed skin. Nobody else was around, but still she didn't want to cry, to let these people get at her. After all, she kept falling into the same old trap of trusting the wrong people time and time again. That's how she'd fallen into Lafayette's grasp and that's why Jane has hurt her one too many times.

Eventually, she pushed herself to her feet and padded back downstairs. Outside, a car backfired and she froze for second, hand automatically flying to her hip, where she would usually keep her gun while at work. As calm restored itself around the neighborhood, Lisbon slowly began to regain control of her breathing and her senses. There was no need for her to be reacting so irrationally, but since she'd heard about Lafayette, she had been slightly on edge. Though it appeared he preferred to prey on vulnerable children still, she couldn't help but wonder what if he decided to come back for her again? After all, not only was she the one that got away, but she had sent him to jail for a very long while and were it not for Jane, he'd be back there already. As she returned to her bedroom, glass of water in hand, she told herself that she wasn't overreacting and it was only natural that she had some concerns. In fact, if anything, it was healthier that she did.

Lisbon never appreciated being called into the CBI earlier than usual. Though she didn't actively broadcast the fact, it wasn't exactly secret that she appreciated her lie ins either. Still, she knew it had to be important and she'd never dare disobey a direct order from Minelli. Climbing out of her SUV in the CBI parking lot, her heart sank just a little when she saw Jane pull up in his distinctive vehicle. When he rushed up to greet her, she was nothing but cordial and smiled politely as he held the elevator for her.

"Lisbon," he spoke, rolling up and down on his heels.

"Jane," she murmured in response.

She eyed him curiously when the elevator failed to stop on the second floor and he smiled benignly in response.

"You're wondering why I haven't got off on the second floor."

"I really don't care, Jane."

"Sure you do," he replied promptly. "You think I'm just going to spend the rest of the day bothering you. Don't worry, I'm just getting some of my books."

"Whatever."

She breathed a sigh of relief as doors sprang open and quickly made a break for her office. Lisbon had arrived earlier than anticipated and knew Minelli wasn't due in for at least another half an hour, which gave her time to double-check some files she had to deliver to him. Jane sighed dejectedly as he watched the brunette practically run away from him. Was the mere concept of spending any time whatsoever with him really that unpleasant? He shook his head and smiled when he saw Cho, already engrossed in some file while he picked up several hard-backs from the shelf beside his couch. There was a reason why he hadn't moved everything immediately; he wanted to make sure that he still had excuses to come up here. Besides, he was determined to be reassigned back to the SCU so really didn't see the point in moving everything anyway.

"Hi Cho," Jane said brightly and the agent briefly looked up from his work, giving him the faintest of acknowledgements. It was blatantly obvious that he sided completely with his boss and wasn't ready to forgive him either. If anything, he'd only be ready to do so when Lisbon appeared to as well.

It was a catch-22, he decided as he headed back downstairs dejectedly and sat at the soulless desk he'd adopted as his temporary base of operations. To work with Lisbon again, he had to prove himself as a better person. But for some reason, he only ever seemed to be a better person whenever he was with her. And there was seemingly nothing he could do about it. Jane allowed his head to fall into his hand while the guys from Organized Crimes milled around him. They didn't have a soft leather couch down here and he hoped he'd soon be allowed to recline on the one near Cho's desk once more. Thinking, for some inexplicable reason, seemed so much easier when he was laying down. To reconcile with Lisbon, he needed evidence to be able to get this bastard back behind bars where he belonged. Where he'd been, thanks to the brunette agent, until he'd been released on parole fourteen months ago. But the evidence was gone. Non-existent. Burned in a fire he'd started. Another damn catch-22. He was being taunted by that phrase now.

Still, it was his own fault.

Two hours later and he was startled from his dozing when a gentle hand curled around his shoulder. Instinctively, Jane flinched at the touch and he knew it most certainly wasn't any of the OCU - those men were more rough and ready with their physical contact. Blearily, he gazed up at and frowned slightly when a nervous Van Pelt smiled weakly at him. Quickly and not waiting for invitation, she pulled across a chair from an empty desk, relieved that the rest of the team Jane was now working for were out somewhere. She wanted to speak to him in privacy, especially as she wasn't quite sure why she was doing this herself.

"To what do I owe..."

"Shut up, Jane," Van Pelt hissed and Jane rose a surprised eyebrow in response. "Lafayette's struck again."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't know what's going on between the boss and that murderer and I don't want to know," she quickly spoke, glancing over her shoulder as a secretary walked by. "But I know you do and you need to do something to make it up to her."

"Do I?"

His tone was skeptical and Van Pelt quickly brushed it off.

"Jane, I'm not an idiot. We all know you want to work with us again," she replied, narrowing her eyes slightly in annoyance, before she continued, her voice faltering slightly. "I shouldn't have told you this."

She quickly stood and turned on her heels, immediately appearing to regret her decision. Maybe she had been wrong and Jane didn't want to be part of their team anymore, however foreign it felt to her. After all, Van Pelt had never been on the team without Jane, apart from that very first nerve-wracking week when he'd been suspended over the death of a suspect.

"Van Pelt?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

As she walked away, a sly grin crept across his face and he briefly wondered why he had never bothered to think to do this before. When Lafayette had first killed after release from jail, Jane had spent several hours staring at a computer screen with Van Pelt and none of them had even considered searching his house. His style meant that he'd probably have mementoes, trophies and reminders of sorts littered around his house of his various conquests. Possibly even some relating to a pre-teenage Lisbon. Jane shuddered at the thought as he gathered up his jacket and car keys.

He had work to do.

***

"Why do you think he attacked again so soon?"

"I don't know," Lisbon replied honestly. "Probably to mock us because he got away with murder, literally."

Cho watched his boss nervously. She was coping with this crime scene a lot better than the first time she'd seen Lafayette's re-emergence as a prevalent murderer. While she was obviously more stressed than usual, at least she wasn't suffering from panic attacks again. He knew that some of that was down to the fact that Minelli had had the chance to warn her about it this time.

"You've been thinking about it again, haven't you?" he murmured as they eventually walked away. "You shouldn't."

"I know."

"If you want to talk…"

Cho trailed off and Lisbon looked at him, surprised at his offer. Her right hand man wasn't exactly famed for his need for conversation so she especially appreciated his sentiment.

"Thank you."

"Boss?"

"Yes?"

Lisbon turned to face Rigsby, flashing him a weak smile. She knew that it wouldn't convince him that she was fine, but that wasn't the point. Rigsby took a deep breath as he slid his cell phone back into his pocket, watching his boss with a disconcerted expression. It wasn't as if he was imparting bad news, but he couldn't help but worry. The last time Lafayette was around, she'd acted strange as hell and he didn't want to see a repeat performance. Last time, Jane had left the team and if he was entirely honest, he was scared that he'd be next in the firing line if the case screwed up again.

"I finally got through to Van Pelt. She is looking up the whereabouts of Lafayette now."

"Good."

When they arrived back at CBI headquarters, Van Pelt appeared to have made little to no progress on locating Lafayette and the day dragged by painfully slowly. They had gathered little evidence up from the crime scene, something which was worrying Lisbon. It also didn't help that when Cho and Rigsby, along with a warrant, had searched Lafayette's house from top to bottom, they had come back empty-handed. When they caught up with Lafayette again, she wanted to make sure that they got the conviction this time. At least they didn't have Jane complicating matters and compromising things though. Still, when it hit eight p.m. and there was really nothing of use they could do, she sent the team home and left herself, feeling overwhelmingly frustrated at the lack of progress they were making. She figured it was something to do with the fact that she had almost grown accustomed to a fast turnover rate with Jane, but that was besides the point. At least she knew that any case they dealt with now, they'd be dealing with it _right_.

Driving usually helped her relax and that was one of the reasons how she justified her preference for being behind the wheel. Unusually, she found herself tense as she pulled up at home and parked her car. Taking a few seconds to scan the environment, she willed herself to breathe a little easier. Though nothing appeared to be different in her neighborhood, she still couldn't help but feel like something was inexplicably wrong. Still, she slipped out of the vehicle only to be approached from behind, without any time to react. Within seconds, she was lying on the floor, unconscious and her assailant was rummaging through her purse for her keys. With a grin, the man gently scooped her into his arms and headed towards her apartment. After all, he'd waited far too long for this.

Lisbon blinked several times, her vision still swimming from the blow she'd received to the head and murmured bitterly in response to the throbbing ache developing at the back of her skull. She knew she should have been more careful, she shouldn't have even bothered getting out of the car. It took a couple more seconds for her to realize that her arms and legs had been tied to her chair. When her bedroom door creaked open, she wasn't surprised with who she saw, but it didn't stop her blood from running cold as he approached her with a lecherous grin.

"Hello, Teresa."

She refused to scream as Lafayette approached her, his blade glinting in the half-light.

**TBC…**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Sorry if there's any mistakes in this part. Editing stuff is rather hard when you have someone talking at you, ugh. Anyway, this is the last part and I'm rather relieved I've finished it in time.

Thanks to: Jadestar1981, Country2776, yaba, WildDaisies10, Divinia Serit, Ebony10, Chiisana Minako, Famous4it, ch19777, mtm, Viktorija, Frogster and Dogeatdog for reviewing part eight. You guys are completely awesome. Thanks to everyone who has support me whilst writing this fic, it's been a crazy month.

For twin, as I've been taunting her with it and didn't get it up before she had to go out. I'm sorry, forgive me?

x tromana

* * *

**Part Nine**

"Why should I believe you?"

Cho's tone was skeptical and had it been anyone else he'd been talking to, Jane knew that the person would probably be puffing, sighing and tapping their foot in frustration by now. But that wasn't Cho's style; he'd learned how to control his emotion displays through his stint at juvie and then, in the military. It wasn't that he was stoic per se, he just had a massive amount of self-control. Still, it didn't stop Jane from showing his frustration. He knew he'd pushed the boundaries with the entirety of the team, but lives, or rather, a very specific life was at stake here and if Van Pelt could still trust him, why couldn't the rest of them?

"I need you to trust me on this one," Jane pleaded, knowing full well that Cho was virtually immune to his charms.

"Fine, but if you're wasting my time…"

"I'm not, believe me, I'm not."

Relieved that he had finally worn down Cho's resolve, Jane bolted to his car as the Asian agent followed behind more warily. Ultimately, the reason Cho agreed to go with him was the fact that Jane had appeared on his doorstep at all, rather than heading straight to Lisbon's house. Normally, the blond would dive headfirst into dangerous situations without much regard for his safety or that of others, so the fact that he was practically begging for back up spoke volumes of the circumstances. As he climbed into the Citroen, Cho checked for the presence of his firearm before pulling out his cell phone. Jane may have been certain that he was right, but Cho didn't want to turn up on his boss' doorstep, disturbing her privacy when there was absolutely nothing wrong.

With a sigh of frustration, Cho eventually stopped trying to ring. Five calls, three voice messages and still no luck. What made him feel worse was the fact that Lisbon never went anywhere without her cell phone as you never knew when an emergency might arise.

"She's not answering," he murmured, glancing darkly at the blond. "She _never_ ignores a call."

"I told you," Jane replied grimly.

Cho nodded slightly and they fell into a dark silence, both dreading what they may find in barely a couple of minutes time when they arrive at their destination. Needless to say, when Jane spotted Lisbon's car, with its door still open and her belongings scattered underneath it, he started to panic. Hastily, he pulled up, not even bothering to park correctly and Cho flew out of the passenger side. Lisbon's front door hadn't been closed properly, merely pulled to and drawing his gun, the Asian agent pushed the door open as Jane caught up with him.

"Stay behind me," he hissed at Jane. "He's probably armed."

Jane nodded, heart in throat, hoping that they weren't too late. He cringed as his foot hit a creaky step shortly before they heard the crash of something sounded suspiciously like a human falling to the floor. Suddenly, in a flurry of action, leaving Jane slightly confused as to what had actually happened, Cho knocked the knife out of Lafayette's hand just as it hovered above Lisbon's exposed stomach before wrestling him to the ground and handcuffing him. It wasn't until Lisbon plaintively called his name that Jane realized where he was and what he was meant to be doing. As he tentatively approached her, unsure how she'd respond to his presence in her home, Cho pushed past him with the criminal, stating that he'd wait for Rigsby to pick them up and take them to CBI headquarter. The look on the agent's face spoke volumes and Jane nodded wordlessly, agreeing to look after Lisbon for as long as feasibly possible.

"My head hurts," she whimpered as Jane's fingers fumbled with her bonds. "I…"

"Shh," he replied and once freed, he helps her scrambling to a sitting position. "You're safe now, you're okay."

"How did you…"

"Later," he replied firmly while she trembled slightly. "Later. We need to check you're okay first."

Quickly and ignoring her discomfort, he took a quick look at the back of her head, frowning when he saw a small gash, which had already clotted over. Better that than her bleeding out, but she was likely to be suffering from concussion. Unable to control himself and desperate to confirm to his senses that she was still alive, he threw his arms tightly around her shoulders and pressed a firm kiss to her temple. She didn't flinch under his touch and her anger with him had temporarily abated, replaced with a sheer relief at being alive. Tentatively, she wrapped her arms around him and found herself clutching his jacket tightly. They only parted when five minutes later, a paramedic walked in, having been summoned and let in by Cho. He left seconds after the medic's arrival, heading back to the CBI headquarters to question the criminal with Rigsby.

Jane watched agitatedly as the paramedic fussed over Lisbon. She had scowled irritably as the auburn haired woman flashed a penlight into her eyes, took quick measurements and ran various tests on her reactions. Despite the fact the blow she had received from Lafayette had rendered unconsciousness, she had somehow managed to talk the medic out of hospitalization and instead agreed to remain at home under observation. Jane hated the way she winced while holding her hair firmly out of the way so that the other woman could clean the open wound before placing a white dressing to it. He had a feeling that the moment she had left, contrary to instruction, Lisbon would insist that he drove her back to CBI headquarters.

Almost as soon as the front door had closed, Lisbon rounded on Jane and as expected, demanded that he drove her to work. He sighed, annoyed at the fact that Lisbon showed so much disregard for her own wellbeing, especially when she grew so concerned if any of her team so much as picked up a paper cut. Unwilling to give into the desires of the brunette, he instead locked and bolted her front door before turning back to her. Whether she liked it or not, she needed to rest and he was going to observe her as he'd promised the paramedic before she had left. Even though she argued throughout the whole process, he wasn't relieved until she was wrapped up in bed, dozing and he was sitting uncomfortably on the chair she'd been tied to only a couple of hours ago. He smiled briefly as she shifted in her sleep. Forty-five minutes until he'd have to wake her to ask the basic questions as instructed. She wasn't going to be best pleased then.

Yawning expansively, Lisbon glared at Jane as he placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of her beside the two slices of toast she was meant to be eating. Ignoring the food, she immediately picked up the drink and gulped appreciatively despite the fact it was still boiling hot. Jane smirked at her as he sat beside her. Every hour he'd woken her to check that she wasn't deteriorating and when he'd eventually woken her for breakfast, she'd been in a particularly grouchy mood. When she eventually pleaded to be taken to work, he relented. He knew he'd have to explain how he knew that Lafayette was attacking her sooner or later.

"Right," she said determinedly after she had closed the door to her office. "How did you know?"

"Luck? Common sense?"

"Jane," she answered warningly.

"Here."

He pulled out a box of objects and warily, Lisbon stood up to have a look inside. With a frown she rifled through the bagged and tagged evidence, all meticulously prepared by Cho. She pulled out various scraps of paper detailing Lafayette's preparations to target her both as a child and last night, photographs of countless children he'd killed and mementoes he'd obviously stolen from their rooms.

"I got Van Pelt and Rigsby to pick it up last night, when you were dozing."

"Oh," she answered, not quite sure what to make of it. "Where did you find it? Cho and Rigsby…"

"Yeah, they may have searched in house, but they forgot about the hollowed space underneath his garden shed."

"Ah."

"There is enough for you to get a conviction now, right?"

She nodded as her fingers came into contact with a piece of jewelry. Carefully, she lifted it out and let out a strangled sob when she recognized the locket that her mother had given her for her eighth birthday. She'd thought she had lost it years ago and it had never crossed her mind that it had been stolen, least of all by Lafayette. Lisbon wasn't quite sure how to feel, being reunited with such a sentimental item after so long separated from it.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

They fell into silence again until Lisbon spoke once more.

"If it's okay with Minelli, d'you want to work…"

"I thought you'd never ask," he interrupted, flashing her with a bright smile.

Jane threw his arms around her again and after approximately half a minute, which felt significantly longer, she pushed him off, sending him a dark glare in response. She sat down at her desk and observed him seriously.

"Don't think I have completely forgiven you yet."

"I don't."

"Good, because you really screwed up."

"I know."

Lisbon bit on her bottom lip to prevent herself from smirking. She'd never seen Jane look quite so apologetic before. Instead, she softened her gaze and smiled gently at him.

"But you did save my life," she finally acknowledged. "Thank you."

"Meh, it was nothing. Just look at the amount of times you've saved mine."

"I mean it."

"I know."

"I have work to be getting on with. Don't you have a couch to be breaking in?"

"Yeah," Jane grinned and settled on the black leather couch in her office. "This one. You're not out of the woods yet and I need to keep an eye on you."

Lisbon scowled at him as she picked up her pen and pulled a form out to fill in. This time, she'd give into his whims. After all, he was only looking out for her and besides, they had a lot of rebuilding to do.

"You're going home early, by the way, Lisbon," Jane spoke lightly. "You need to take it easy."

He laughed as she threw the pen at him and it landed neatly in his lap. She squealed slightly when he threw it back it her. It felt good to be back in her presence.

end


End file.
